A police motorcyclist who hit and killed a pensioner as he was escorting the Duchess of Edinburgh in May 2023 was not driving to the expected standard, a court has heard. Metropolitan Police officer Pc Christopher Harrison, 68 – who has pleaded not guilty to causing death by careless driving – drove through a red light and collided with pensioner Helen Holland, 81, on a pedestrian crossing on West Cromwell Road in west London. The mother-of-four suffered a skull fracture, bruising to her arms, legs and body, plus fractures to her lower legs. She died two weeks later, with the post-mortem examination giving the cause of death as complications from a severe head injury.
The Old Bailey heard that Pc Christopher Harrison was allegedly travelling at between 44mph and 58mph on a 30mph road as he approached the red light. As part of a designated police escort team, police officers are legally allowed to exceed the speed limit, pass red lights and drive on the wrong side of the road to keep the convoy moving, but their actions must be done safely and with minimal risk to the public.
Mr Harrison was part of the team of convoy motorcycle outriders that was escorting Duchess Sophie as she left the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office in King Charles Street just after 3pm. The two working escort motorcycles ahead of Mr Harrison had gone through the crossing by the time he arrived. As he approached the red light, Ms Holland was already 2.9 metres onto the crossing when he collided with her; she had not just stepped off the kerb.
Johnathan Moody, Lancashire Police's deputy chief training instructor, who was called in to review the incident, told the court: "It is not what I would expect a competent rider to do." He said "the majority" of the escort "was done as I would expect of a competent rider" trained to the appropriate levels except "the last few seconds at that crossing". Mr Moody added: "I would have expected him to have controlled that crossing by stopping at the red light."
The prosecution maintains that Mr Harrison's driving was careless and he is guilty of causing death by careless driving. Prosecutor Michelle Heeley KC previously said: "Mrs Holland was entitled to be crossing then, Mr Harrison knew that the light for traffic, for him, was red, and so he should have taken care when driving through the red light. But he did not stop and he did not see Mrs Holland, which is why he drove straight into her. He should have seen her, he should have expected there to be pedestrians and thus modified his driving somehow, but he didn't, and that is why the prosecution say he was driving carelessly at that point."
The case, which is expected to last around a week, continues.
Duchess Sophie's statement
The tragic accident took place on 10 May 2023. At the time, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that a police motorcycle collided with a pedestrian. Paramedics from the London Ambulance Service and London's Air Ambulance attended the scene, and the woman, later named as Helen Holland, was taken to hospital where she remained in critical condition.
In a statement, Buckingham Palace said the Duchess's "thoughts and prayers are with the injured lady and her family". They added: "She is grateful for the swift response by the emergency services and will keep abreast of developments. Further comment at this time would not be appropriate while the incident is being investigated."